Solar Manufacturer Amonix Sets New World Record for Solar Panel Efficiency

Solar Manufacturer Amonix Sets New World Record for Solar Panel Efficiency

Amonix, a solar manufacturer based in California, has been focusing on pushing the efficiency of solar modules to new levels. The company specializes in concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems – basically solar power enhanced by using mirrors and lenses that bring up the concentrations of sunlight. Amonix has now built a CPV solar module with a peak efficiency of 34.2%, which is the highest rating ever achieved in real-world conditions.

The testing was conducted over several sunny days by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The Department of Energy once aimed for efficiency rates of photovoltaics to reach “One-third of a sun” (over 33.3%), which Amonix now has made a reality.

“This is a huge milestone for Amonix and the CPV industry. We have been at the forefront of CPV technology breakthroughs and have consistently proven that CPV offers the highest efficiencies of all solar technologies in the right operating conditions with plenty of headroom. Amonix is focused on driving CPV costs down and breaking efficiency records in the near future.” states Vahan Garboushian, the founder and CTO of Amonix.

Note that the efficiency of individual solar cells (not entire modules/panels) typically reaches higher levels. The best solar panels using CPV technology have shown cell efficiency rates of over 43% under ideal conditions; however, entire modules have to be tested to evaluate the potential of the different technologies.

Source: Amonix

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Solar Impulse Plane - Swiss pilots set world records

Solar Impulse Plane - Swiss pilots set world records

A solar-powered plane that has shattered three world records plans to go the distance again this year. The pilots of the "Solar Impulse" want to fly more than 1,500 miles (2,500 kilometers) without a drop of fuel during a two-day journey — a dress rehearsal for the ultimate goal of flying around the world in 2014.

Two Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, plan to switch off on flying the solar-powered plane at a technical stopover in Spain during the upcoming flight scheduled for May or June. That would allow them to tag-team the 48-hour flight over the Pyrenees Mountains (the natural border between France and Spain) and the Mediterranean Sea so that they can safely land in Morocco.

The Solar Impulse team has already put seven years of work into their aircraft design with the wingspan of an Airbus A340 jetliner, the weight of a family car and the engine power of a scooter. Solar Impulse's four propellers draw an average of 8 horsepower — about what the Wright Brothers had available when they first flew in 1903. Each of the four engine pods also have lithium polymer batteries.

That design helped Solar Impulse set a new flight-time record as a manned plane powered only by sunlight during a day-long voyage in 2010. It also set endurance and altitude records during the flight that lasted 26 hours, 10 minutes and 19 seconds.

Such solar-powered aeronautic feats do more than just impress — they also raise new possibilities for commercial planes that could rely on electricity rather than jet fuel. Electric motors could be far more efficient than today's jet engines, but electric planes remain limited by the weight of heavy batteries needed to store electricity.

Video, Solar Aircraft, Solar Impulse, Solar Impulse Plane, Solar Plane, Solar Planes, Solar Technology, Solar-Powered Plane World Record, World Record Solar Plane, Travel News

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